Scott, Piotr, or Bobby? Oh, My!
by JobbyShipper
Summary: John Allerdyce comes to terms with his feelings, emotions, and new way of life as it’s finally time to ditch the cocky attitude and accept who he’s always been.
1. Prologue: Abandoning The Brotherhood

Scott, Piotr, or Bobby?... Oh, My!

By JobbyShipper

Rating: This will go for a long time not even really needing a mature rating, but it will eventually get to that point, so might as well say MA.

Summery: John Allerdyce begins to see the error of his ways and realizes he never should've left the Xavier Institute. His feelings, emotions, and life have changed on him from all around after becoming one with the art of meditation, thanks to Magneto, and he starts to believe he's going insane because of a voice that starts talking to him in his head. However, those are the least of his problems as he finally decides that it's time to come out of the closet, but who will he end up with? Only time will tell.

Warnings: This will start out as a basic X4 story that centers around Pyro and coming to terms with his feelings, emotions, and new way of life as it's finally time to ditch the cocky attitude and except who he's always been. There will be sexual content in future chapters, just not yet. hehe.

Prologue: Abandoning the Brotherhood Dream

Pyro, otherwise known as John Allerdyce sat in his room at the main headquarters stronghold that had been Magneto's fortress home for many long years, much longer then Pyro had been working for him. The mutant was flipping a lighter open and shut. He had gained more control over his powers and had a new device to create the flames from, but he simply couldn't get over the habit of playing around with a lighter and it had always helped him to think more clearly when he was trying to be at peace, but failing miserably.

Pyro sat down on the floor and started trying to meditate like Magneto had originally suggested to him when he had started learning from his teachings... back when he had turned his back on the X-Men... his friends... The Professor... The pyromaniac tried not to think about any of that, but it was hard not to. There were times that he felt alone where I was now, whereas he was never alone when he was still a student of Xavier. None of the mutants that he was around these days seemed to have anything in common with him as he was one of the youngest in the Brotherhood. Pyro honestly felt that he didn't fit in at all, despite all of the encouraging words that Magneto had always given him. He still just couldn't help but feel like an outcast. He sighed as he continued to silently meditate.

As Pyro continued to meditate, he started to remember things in his head. They were things from his not too distant past. He was remembering when he used to take Cyclops's mechanics class. He smiled not even realizing it from his meditative state. Pyro remembered hearing about the death of Scott Summers. It was a sad memory for him that he'd tried his best to block out, but it suddenly came flooding back into his mind.

_Pyro was standing near Magneto as he gave his speech to the Brotherhood below._

"They wish to cure us," Magneto announced in his magnificently powerful tone. "Well I say to you, we are the cure for all homosapiens... They have their weapons..." He looks over to Phoenix. "And we have ours..."

After Magneto's speech had ended and the crowd was cheering, Pyro couldn't help but want to move away from the group so he could think more clearly. He went over to a part of the woods where no one else was and sat down, starting to meditate. He breathed deeply and slowly as he cleared his mind, trying not to let the anger he had from his encounter earlier with Bobby Drake get the better of him, as he had just seen him not too long ago at that riot about the cure. It wasn't that he hated Bobby. It was that he hated the whole situation, and it wasn't like he could confess to Bobby that he missed his friendship and wanted him to come with him, because he had to keep up appearances. He believed that Callisto had followed him to the riot just to make sure that he'd got the job done, so that was why he had made sure to act like the arrogant Pyro that everyone knew of. Pyro found himself constantly wishing that Bobby was there with him then more then ever. He could've used some of his advice, or just a chance to talk with him about little things, try and calm him down... definitely without Marie around to get between their friendship like she always did.

_Through everything, Pyro distinctly heard Magneto saying things from the distance. "I can smell that adamantium from a mile away..." Magneto's voice echoed. "You think we're keeping her here against her will? She's here because she wants to be..."_

Pyro didn't know who he was talking to, and right then, he didn't care as he tried to block out the conversation and concentrate. He suddenly heard footsteps coming toward him. The footfalls on the leaves, and the crunching had caused him to loose his concentration. He opened his eyes and turned to see The Phoenix had stopped and was looking down at him. Her eyes were piercing with the evil that was within her. Pyro gulped as he looked at her, praying that she wouldn't attack him, as from the way she had been acting recently, he wouldn't have been surprised if she did.

"You are John Allerdyce... Jean remembers you..."

Pyro slowly stood up and looked upon her. He nodded his head. "I used to be at Xavier's school, yes..."

He could suddenly tell that she was feeling a little faint. It was like she was going to fall, and then the unthinkable happened, and she actually did. He quickly knelt down beside her. "Dr. Grey, are you alright?" Pyro knew he shouldn't have called her by that name, but it was really the only one that he knew for her. He didn't even know truly that she was called the Phoenix at that point.

She looked up at the blonde highlighted teen and then looked around everywhere in confusion. A tear came to her eyes. "Where's Logan? Where am I? John, what's going on?"

At this point Pyro could tell that something was different about her. Apparently the Jean Grey that he had once known had come out. "I don't know where Logan is... You're in the forest. We're near San Francisco. Do you not..."

"John... Please..." She closed her eyes tightly as if she was in some great amount of pain. "John, you have to kill me... I killed Scott... I killed the Professor."

Pyro's eyes widened at this. He knew about the Professor being killed, but he had no idea about Cyclops. "Cyclops is dead? Dr. Grey, why did you kill him?" He backed away from her. "You loved him. He was everything to you. How could you do that?" Pyro knew exactly why he was so upset at this point. It was all very clear to him, but he tried not to let that get out.

"I'm sorry, John... I know you cared about him too, but now isn't the time for me to reveal what I know about your feelings. No one should ever know unless you feel they deserve to... But you have to kill me... You can't let me kill anyone else, John... If Scott meant anything to you like he did to me, then stop Phoenix before she kills again."

Pyro pulled up his arm, lighting his igniter. A tear came to his eye at the thought of what he'd just been told, and the thought that he was near about to kill Dr. Grey. He couldn't even bring himself to throw the flames toward her. The pain was too much for him. He turned off the flame and simply started walking away. "I can't Dr. Grey..."

_John Allerdyce took his shame with him as he moved away from Jean, looking back only long enough to see her stand up once more, becoming the dominant Phoenix personality again. He could almost hear her laughing in his head at how pathetic he was, but it didn't matter to him. He simply kept going back to where the rest of the Brotherhood were._

He suddenly shot out of his meditation when he heard the laughing continuing. It wouldn't stop. It was entirely unbearable to him. He put his hands over his ears trying to get the laughter to stop, but it was like it was inside him, and wouldn't stop... And then, all of a sudden, the laughter stopped. John looked around in shock.

_"John? Can you hear me, John? I know you can hear me. You should've listened to me when you had the chance. Think of all the lives you could've spared if you had just killed me... But that is of no consequence now. Jean Grey is dead, and only a small echo of what she once was remains. Can you guess where that echo lies, John? I know you can. The echo knows the truth about what happened with your precious Scott._

Pyro stood up, lighting his igniting from his right hand and his Zippo lighter in the other hand so he'd be ready if something did happen. "Who are you? I didn't know Magneto had other telepaths in the Brotherhood besides Dr. Grey."

"_Foolish boy. No wonder you dyed your hair blonde. I just told you who I was. I am an echo of Jean Grey, a last remnant of what she once was. I've been following your journey since you made your trip back from Alcatraz Island. Need I remind you of what Magneto did while there?"_

"No... I don't wanna remember. It wasn't what I thought it was... That's why I came back here..."

"_Oh, no, John. Apparently you've forgotten what happened. Allow me to remind you."_

Pyro felt a siring pain rush through his head as he dropped down on his bed, his igniter and Zippo lighter shutting off.

_Pyro had just stood back up on Alcatraz Island after suffering a massive head butt by Iceman. He watched on in horror as Dr. Grey's new entity destroyed everything around her. He turned to see Arclight, Kid Omega, and Psylocke rushing out of the building. Arclight was disintegrated instantly, but he saw Psylocke place her hand on Kid Omega and teleport away with him. He turned his head toward the bridge and saw Magneto looking toward Jean and Wolverine as he was moving over toward her to obviously stop her. Pyro looked back over to Magneto and then the manipulator of metal turned to him. Pyro could tell that he was going to just leave him there to die. He realized in this instant that he truly meant nothing to Magneto. Pyro turned and jumped into the nearby ocean just before he could be hit by Dark Phoenix's destructive wave and swam away toward shore._

Pyro's eyes shot wide as he sat back up. He was breathing heavily and there were tears in his eyes. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"_To simply prove a point, John," the echo of Jean replied. "Magneto is a heartless man that only cares about himself and his own goals for world conquest. Surely you can see that now. He abandoned you in your time of need."_

"He had been cured himself!" I blurted back. "What was he supposed to do for me, huh? Was he supposed to come down there and get obliterated like all the other people that you killed?"

"_Well, at least you're accepting that I'm part of what Jean Grey once was now, John. However you still haven't registered what I said to you earlier about Scott. I know that you want to ask me, but you just can't seem to do it. The real me didn't know what had actually happened. Let me show you, John. It's simply beautiful."_

"Not more images," I groaned as my head was throbbing.

_It is a necessary evil," she said. "Brace yourself."_

Pyro sat on the mattress as still as he could and grabbed the blankets firmly in his hands as more images were brought into his mind by this seemingly powerful echo.

_Scott Summers stood looking at Jean Grey for the longest time. Scott was on the verge of tears. She asked him to take his glasses off, because she wanted to see his eyes. He resisted. She said that he couldn't hurt her, and that she could control it. She took his glasses off, his eyes closed tightly. After persuasion, he finally opened his eyes, and indeed she was controlling the blasts to the point where his blue eyes appeared before her. With that they started kissing passionately. During this moment, Scott's face began to turn a light shade of red, and that's when it happened! Scott's powers suddenly returned full force as his eyes opened wide, spreading a beam of optic brightness as far as the eye could see, but it did not hurt Jean as her powers were too strong for it to affect her... or so she thought, but as their lips parted because of the sudden blast, a bright pink mist escaped from Jean's lips and burst into Scott's causing a reaction that sent them both flying, Jean going to the river bank, and Scott sailing through the trees for about a half a mile before crashing his back into the side of a tree and falling to the ground, out cold._

The vision vanished as a look of shock came over Pyro. Scott was obviously still alive, but was he still at Alkali Lake? How long had he been there? It had only been a couple days since the incident at Alcatraz Island, but how long had it been between the incident there and what had transpired at the lake.

Pyro stood up again and felt the emotions run wild inside him as he tried to get his bearings. "Where is he? Is he still at Alkali Lake?"

"_Yes, he's unconscious. The only reason he's still alive now is because I've been sustaining him. If that small amount of transference had never occurred, he would've died for sure when his spine impacted with the tree. You must retrieve him and return him to the Xavier Institute."_

"Why? What do you want me to do this for? You could've easily talked to Logan or someone else at the mansion. Why me?"

"_You should know the answer to that question without me having to explain it. You loved Scott just as much if not more then I did. You can never deny that either. I only knew because I was a telepath, but I did respect your privacy, now matter how strong the urge was to at least pick on Scott about it, I never did. I trust you to help him, because of those strong feelings. You've been crushing on him since the first time you had one of his auto mechanics classes when you were twelve. Sure it was just a boyhood crush back then, but you never let go of those feelings. I need you to help him, John. He needs to stay alive to keep Professor Xavier's dream alive, and you need to make up for your past mistakes and fix the problems that you've got yourself into. There are still people that love and care about you at the Xavier Institute. Go to them. Show them that you still care by bringing them Scott to heal. Dr. McCoy will know what to do. Time is of the essence."_

"Perhaps I do need to fix my mistakes," Pyro said silently. "I'll do it. I'll go to him. I'll have to take my motorcycle though. There's no other transportation. Everything was used for the march to San Francisco."

Pyro quickly took off, not even bothering to take anything with him. He had the clothes on his back, his fire pack, his Zippo lighter, and the keys to his motorcycle that he had managed to teach himself how to ride before everything went crazy with the whole Alcatraz Island incident. He made the quick descent down the winding stairs of the headquarters and left the building. He hopped on his motorcycle, started the engine, and took off into the early morning light, going toward the very distant Alkali Lake in Canada, to save Scott Summers.


	2. Chapter 1: The Cure's Temporary!

Scott, Piotr, or Bobby?... Oh, My!

By JobbyShipper

Author's Note: Alright, after writing the first chapter, I had a feeling that the story might end up going too long with Cyro (Cyclops x Pyro) as the focus, which Cyro is not going to be the focus, as Jobby (John x Bobby) will eventually be the focus. So, this chapter follows Bobby Drake at the mansion and what he's currently dealing with. I would like to think dragon shadows for the review, and anyone else that reviews in the future. So without further ado, I give you, chapter 1...

Chapter 1: The Cure: Not So Permanent

Iceman, otherwise known as Bobby Drake, sat in his room, staring at the pouring rain out his window as it fell in drenching sheets. He sighed out of sheer boredom and even yawned. The rain always made him sleepy, and considering that it was Friday, and classes had been canceled for the day due to all the stress around the mansion after Alcatraz only days ago, he was definitely near ready to fall asleep since there was nothing better to do.

Bobby turned away from his window and looked around the larger, more spacious dorm room that he'd acquired once becoming a full fledged X-Man. He missed his old dorm room on the student's side of the mansion, because of the good memories that still existed there. And that was when he remembered about John err Pyro. He kept seeing flashes of head butting him on Alcatraz Island. Bobby regretted doing that now. Sure, Pyro had meant to kill him, but was that out of hatred for him, or was it only out of loyalty to Magneto? Bobby wasn't so sure. Pyro had always been a hard guy to read as he kept everything bottled up inside. He couldn't be cracked no matter what Bobby did when he was still at the mansion.

In all respects, Bobby couldn't help but blame himself for Pyro leaving in the first place. Why would he blame himself? That was simply answered with one word: Rogue. Things were good for Bobby and Pyro's friendship before she came into the picture, but when Bobby started dating her, he gradually started loosing interest in his friendship with Pyro completely. Bobby had felt that he was more of a babysitter for him then a best friend, always having to tell him not to burn somebody's hair when he got mad at them, or not to show off all the time. Bobby hated coming to a realization that it had been more his fault for Pyro leaving then Magneto's lies feeding his oversized ego, but it was becoming more and more apparent to him as time past.

'_Pyro... Where are you, Pyro?'_ Bobby thought to himself as he stared back out the window again. _'Are you still alive? Are you hurt? Are you dead?' _Bobby didn't know the answer to any of this, because he just left Pyro lying there on Alcatraz Island when he made his escape with Kitty and Jimmy. For all he knew, Pyro could've been vaporized like so many others that night. He left his best friend on that island to die... He simply could not forgive himself for that. Bobby would've done anything now to help Pyro, but at the time, he wasn't even thinking straight, because all he knew was that he needed to get out of there before Jean managed to kill him as well. There had been no time to even think about going back to get Pyro.

Suddenly his thoughts were completely interrupted by the quick opening of his door and then the sound of it slamming loudly. Bobby turned around to see Rogue walking over to him. There was frustration all over her face. It was easy to see that something was bothering her. He stood up and moved over to Rogue, putting a hand to her face. It felt good being able to finally touch her skin after so long of not being able to.

"What's wrong, Marie?" Bobby asked her, concern all over his face.

"Bobby, Ah'm gonna kill that Cajun," Rogue replied in her Southern accent. "Ah tell you now, if Ah still had my powers, he'd be dead already."

Bobby smiled. "What did Remy do now?"

Rogue sat down on the bed and sighed. "He's a jerk, Bobby. He won't take no for an answer. You're gonna have to do your duties as my boyfriend and take care of him."

"Marie, you know that I have no control of him," Bobby informed. "No one does. Logan can't even control him. If the professor was here, he'd put the swamp rat in his place, but he's not."

"Can't you just freeze him solid and put him in the freezer then?" Rogue asked crossing her arms. "Ah'm telling ya. He's trying to break us up. Are you really gonna stand for that?"

'_I don't have time for this,'_ Bobby thought to himself.

This was the norm with Rogue anymore. She was constantly bitching about something anymore. She wasn't even a mutant now, and yet she was complaining more then she ever did. Why would she be complaining more? That was simply answered: Because Bobby wasn't putting out. He was afraid that she was trying to rush into something with him after getting cured, and he just wasn't sure anymore if he even wanted Rogue now. She was human, and as much as he hated thinking about it, because it made him feel like he was Magneto, he couldn't get over the fact that she had just given up what made her special and all because she wanted him to put out. She had told him that she had done it because it was what she wanted, but Bobby wasn't an idiot. He might've been naturally blonde, but Rogue underestimated his intelligence.

Bobby sighed as he sat down beside Rogue. "Marie, I really don't know what to tell ya. I mean, I'm not going to start a fight with him over this. We're not children, and I'm an X-Man. I have to set an example for everyone else in this mansion, including Remy. If you don't like what he's doing, and the things he says, then just ignore him. It's that simple."

Rogue jumped up in shock and stared down at Bobby like he was some monster. "What? Bobby, when you're in a relationship with someone, you're supposed to actually be willing to help the person you love. There is no relationship if..."

Bobby stood up as well. "No, Marie, all you want is for me to be your whipped little dog, and I won't do be that. Ya know, I thought we could actually be happy together after you were cured, but I was wrong. You're not the same person that I fell in love with in Miss Munroe's history class anymore. You don't have the gifts that made you special..."

"You mean the gifts that made me unable actually touch the boy that Ah love!" Marie yelled back. "Ah did it because I love you, and I don't want to be without you anymore, but you just keep pushing me away! What is wrong with you?"

"I could personally ask you the same thing, Marie!" Bobby snapped back. "Maybe you need to go give the Cajun a shot! He might actually like your constant bitching!"

Rogue slapped Bobby right across the face causing a quick transfer of power. Rogue fell from the shock of it. She was suddenly processing Bobby's memories, feelings, powers. The floor turned to solid ice as the powers manifested. Bobby fell to the floor from the slippery ice that now covered it. He looked over to Rogue in shock. Her powers were back! She looked at her hands in complete shock as tears came to her eyes. She shook her head in complete shock. She was right back to square one as the cure was apparently only temporary.

"This isn't right..." Rogue whispered. She did her best to go to the door, slipping and sliding from the ice on the floor as she finally left the room.

Bobby gulped, trying to breathe normally. He'd been completely disoriented from the power of the slap that he'd received, and that was the real reason that he'd fell in the first place, as he felt drained. Normally he would've been able to stay standing on ice, but this was the one time he was too weak to even do so. He grabbed the side of his bed and lifted himself up onto it. He laid down on the mattress and closed his eyes, trying to get his strength back.


	3. Chapter 2: Returning to Alkali Lake

Scott, Piotr, or Bobby?... Oh, My!

By JobbyShipper

Author's Note: Apparently I'm on a role with this. hehe. I believe I've decided that until John and Bobby are reunited, I'll be doing this back and forth formula between the two, cause I like the way it's going. Anyway, here's the next chapter:

Chapter 2: Returning to Alkali Lake

The motorcycle rolled to a screeching halt. It had stopped right behind another motorcycle already on the side of the small, abandoned roadway. Pyro got off his motorcycle, taking off his helmet, and setting it on the seat. He moved over to the other one and touched the closest handlebar.

'_If Scott knew I was touching his bike right now, he'd kill me,"_ Pyro thought to himself as he smiled. He'd never been allowed to touch Scott's bike before now. He almost successfully did once when he was 14, but Scott caught him and blasted him with a small optic blast from his visor from behind for punishment. Pyro had always been interested in learning to ride a motorcycle, but Scott wouldn't even teach him how to cause it was too dangerous for him, and he was too young to learn in the first place.

It wasn't until after Pyro left the Xavier Institute that he was finally allowed to learn to drive one, and who was his teacher? Mystique taught him everything he needed to know about riding, and she even helped him to fix up the bike that they'd stole together one night. Pyro really liked Mystique. He thought of her as a big sister as she was always doing little things for him, just to try to make him feel more at home with the Brotherhood. But after she was cured, and Magneto abandoned her, Pyro began to feel like he had made a mistake joining Magneto in the first place. He didn't want to leave Mystique lying there like that. He wanted to help her, but Magneto wouldn't have allowed it.

Just thinking about all of this made Pyro a tad upset, but he did his best to hide it, as Mystique wasn't the reason he came up here. He was here for Scott, the one guy he wanted to give his whole heart to more then anyone else. Heck, there was no one else when it came to Pyro's feelings. He didn't care about being with anyone but Scott... That was why he was still a virgin. Yeah, real shock, but it was the truth. He might've been considered a loser for that, but at least he was a loyal loser. He'd just never shown interest in anyone else. The Brotherhood sure didn't have any prizes in their group. He considered every one of them ugly... Well, except for Mystique, but then again, she was the sister he never had, so that didn't count.

Pyro sighed as he tried to get his focus back to where he currently was and what he was supposed to be doing. "Alright, Dr. Grey, where is he? The woods continue on through here forever."

"Go straight down the road for a quarter mile, John," the echo answered him. "I'll tell you when to stop."

Pyro nodded, even though he doubted that she would've known that he was nodding, and took off down the abandoned road, looking around everywhere as he did. The blonde-haired mutant remembered that not too long ago, this area had been overrun by the HYDRA, a criminal organization for spying and infiltrating that was believed to be run by someone that everyone had originally thought was dead: Lady Deathstrike. It was believed that she had perished when the dam broke, but the stories about her extremely powerful healing factor were indeed true if she had managed to survive. So needless to say, Pyro was ready to light up some HYDRA if it came down to it. He didn't figure that they would still be there, considering that the X-Men had shut them down when they came looking for the Cerebro parts that had been stolen by William Stryker during the raid, but it didn't hurt to be cautious.

While he continued to walk, he remembered also that HYDRA had been responsible for the creation of the Master Mold that created Sentinels that the X-Men had been forced to fight as well. Pyro had no idea what it would've been like to have had to deal with all of that, and he in fact never did. He himself had been sent on a mission during that time by Magneto to attack some power plant that HYDRA had also been using for one of their many schemes. Magneto, just like the X-Men, didn't like what the HYDRA had been planning and had good reason to believe that Bolivar Trask, the Secretary of Defense for the President, had been involved in all of this as well, making it part of some terrorist conspiracy to take over the country, but no one could connect Trask to what was going on. If it hadn't been for air head Bobby Drake stopping him from completing his mission, the plant would've been finished along with the plan that HYDRA was trying to implement.

Pyro sighed as he thought about Bobby. Despite the guy being an idiot at times, following Xavier's orders without question, he still felt of him as his best friend, now more then ever. He felt himself wondering what Bobby was doing at that moment. When he rode through New York City on his way up to Canada, it had been raining, so he figured that Bobby had just been sitting in his room, looking outside at the rain. That was what he always did when it rained. Pyro doubted that Bobby had changed much, so he couldn't help but actually picture him looking out that window at that very moment. A tear even came to his eye as he thought about it, but he quickly wiped it away. This wasn't the time to be thinking about Bobby Drake. He had more important things to worry about.

"_Stop, John,"_ the echo commanded, and with that, Pyro did stop. _"Turn to your north and go through the trees. You will find him a half mile away from where you currently are."_

"Dr. Grey," I began, "do you sense anyone else here?"

"_The HYDRA aren't here, John, so stop worrying about them."_

"How did you..."

"_I was a telepath, remember?"_

"Oh, yeah... Sorry..." Pyro started moving again in the direction that Jean's echo had told him to go in. He looked around everywhere as he kept moving in the straight path. He didn't want to get lost in these woods, as it was an area that he didn't know very well, but it was only moments before he saw Scott's body, lying unconscious on the ground like he had seen in the vision that Dr. Grey's echo had given him.

Pyro moved over to him quickly and got on his knees in front of him. There was a gash on his forehead, but the blood had since dried. Pyro put a hand on Scott's head and rubbed his hair as he bent down to him. "Scott, can you hear me?"

"_If he can hear you, John, it isn't registering. You must remember that I've been doing everything I can to keep him stable, but I can't keep it up much longer. You have to get him out of here."_

"But it might kill him to be moved, Dr. Grey," Pyro said, fear in his voice. "What if I start to move him, and the spinal injury he sustained triggers something. I'm too afraid to risk it."

"_John, I can keep him stable while he's being moved. Get him to your motorcycle and tie his arms around you with a rope. You do have a rope, don't you?"_

"Yeah, I keep it under the seat in the hidden storage... but..."

"_Stop it with the 'buts', John. If you want to save Scott, then get to work carrying him to the motorcycles."_

"Ok... Ok... Sheesh..." Pyro looked Scott over, trying to figure out what to do. He knew he didn't have long to think this over, but he couldn't help but notice Scott's haggard look. It was a look he didn't often see on him. It was pretty much rebel like: jeans, boots, leather biker jacket, red shirt. He was a little worried with Scott not wearing sunglasses though. "What do I do about his eyes? They could accidentally come open and kill me."

"_He always keeps a second pair of shades under his bike seat, John. Just get those when you get him back to the motorcycles."_

Pyro reached under Scott's back with his left hand, and moved his right hand under Scott's legs so he could pick him up, but he simply couldn't resist doing something first as he leaned down and kissed Scott on the lips. The kiss wasn't a long one, but he knew it would be his one and only chance to touch Scott's lips, so he had to take that chance, and then lifted up with what strength he did have in him and started trying his best to carry Scott away from the forest and back toward the road.

"_You couldn't resist yourself, I see."_

"Sorry, Dr. Grey."

"_It's alright, John. I figured you'd do that anyway."_

"Why were you always so excepting of my feelings for Scott anyway? Most women would've taken things a lot differently."

"_Being a telepath gave me insight into feelings, John. I was able to understand things that most will never understand. It was hard at times to keep myself from revealing the secrets of those around me, but I eventually learned to control the urge."_

Pyro came out of the forest and back onto the road. He shifted Scott in his arms a little. It was very hard on him trying to carrying to older man, as he wasn't very strong in the first place. He spent more time dealing with his looks then his body, and he was starting to regret that as his back was killing him.

"How's he holding up, Dr. Grey?"

"_He's fine, John. You're doing a great job. I'm proud of you, and I'm sure Scott will be as well... As long as you don't tell him about the kiss, that is."_

Pyro smiled a little at that remark and kept going, sighing with relief when he saw the motorcycles. After finally getting over to his, he gently set Scott down, moved over to Scott's bike, and got the extra pair of sunglasses out from the compartment under his seat. He moved back over to Scott and put the glasses on him. He moved over to his bike next and got the rope out from under his seat.

"What do I need to do about Scott's bike?"

"_Don't worry about it for now. Once you're back at the mansion, have Logan or someone take the jet out to get it for him. For now though, Scott's the main concern."_

"I know... I just wanted to make sure." And with that Pyro took Scott into his arms again and gently sat him on the back part of the seat, and jumped onto the front, keeping Scott from falling forward. He took the rope and did his best to tie Scott's arms around his stomach. "I don't know if this is gonna work, Dr. Grey. I don't want him to fall off the bike going full speed down a road."

"_Don't be concerned with that. I'll do my best to keep him steady as I can. You just focus on driving."_

"Dr. Grey?"

"_Yes, John?"_

"Are you going to be in Scott's head permanently, or are you a temporary entity, or what?"

"I don't know, John. Something like this has never been heard of before. If the professor were still around, he could answer that question for the both of us."

Pyro nodded and started the motorcycle. He turned it around using his legs, just to make sure that Scott wasn't going to fall off or anything and then started going as quickly as he could down the road. The trip back to Westchester County would be a long one, but at least Pyro had Scott with him. An unconscious Scott, but he had Scott nonetheless, still alive.


	4. Chapter 3: Many Encounters

Scott, Piotr, or Bobby?... Oh, My!

By JobbyShipper

Author's Note: This was a fun chapter to write. Bobby just couldn't get some time to think to himself cause people just kept bothering him. Well, you'll see what I mean when you read the chapter. Enjoy.

Chapter 3: Many Encounters

After sleeping for what seemed like forever, but was really only about an hour's time, Bobby finally woke up. He felt of his face, still feeling the sting of Rogue's slap. He looked outside the window, seeing that it was still raining outside pretty hard and moved over off the bed, to get a better look, stepping right on the soaking wet carpet. Bobby looked down at the carpet and remembered the accident earlier.

"Crap... Now I'm gonna have to put on another pair of socks." He sighed as he took the soaking wet socks off and threw them in the nearby clothes hamper. He rubbed he right hand through his hair and leaned on the window, looking outside. _'How would I react if I saw John at the gate?'_ Bobby thought to himself. And then he realized that he'd actually thought that in the first place. Why did he miss John so much for recently? It was really strange, but he just couldn't seem to get him off his mind anymore.

He shook the thoughts away and moved over to his dresser. He got out a new pair of socks and moved over to his boots. He sat down on his bed, putting the socks on and then he boots, making sure that his new, dry socks didn't get soaked, even though they were already a little wet anyway since his feet were wet from walking on the carpet.

Bobby stood and moved over to the door, opening it, only to find Gambit standing right outside the door, leaning against the wall with his arms in his trench coat pockets. He smiled to him with his dark red eyes gazing on.

"Hello, mon ami," Gambit said, giving him a brief nod.

"Scram, Cajun," Bobby replied as he closed his door and started moving down the hallway.

"Oh, is that any way to treat your new best friend?" Gambit asked as he caught up to him, his hands still in his pockets.

"You're not my best friend," I replied back with distain. "Only one person has that title, and last time I checked, swamp rat, you're not him."

"Such names, mon ami... Didn't your mother tell you that you shouldn't..."

Bobby stopped him right there as he stopped walking and pushed Gambit into the wall. "Remy, you know nothing about my mother, so why don't you keep your mouth shut for once."

"Oh, Iceman's temperature's rising. You're gonna melt, mon ami. Why won't you give ol' Gambit a chance here? You're the one that basically handed Marie over to me on a silver platter."

"What are you talking about?"

"When she left your room, she came running to me... Well, Gambit lies. Maybe it wasn't me. She went to Logan. Kitty and I just happened to be listening in. Perhaps we'll both get what we want now. You'll have Kitty, and I'll have Marie. We both win."

Bobby let go of Gambit at that point and looked down. "Damn... Logan knows about the fight..."

"Yeah... I had to hold him at bay so he didn't go rip you apart, mon ami. You should be grateful to Gambit for saving your life."

Bobby glared at Gambit and started walking again, and to his displeasure, Gambit started following after him again. "Why don't you just leave me alone?" Bobby asked him, not making eye contact.

"Cause I want to know why you broke petite's heart in the first place," Gambit replied.

Bobby rolled his eyes. "That's none of your business. You need to get it through your head that everyone else's problems aren't your problems as well. Now why don't you go play a card game or something and leave me in peace?" Bobby kept moving away from Gambit, starting to go faster, just to get away from the creep before he could keep on. And that's when it happened. He felt an arm slip around his right arm. He stopped suddenly, actually thinking that it was Gambit that had done this, but sighed with relief when he looked over to see Kitty was standing there with him.

"You alright, Bobby?" She asked. "You look pale as a ghost."

"Fine, Kitty," Bobby simply replied as he kept moving.

"So, I heard that you and Marie were breaking things off. That's too bad."

"Yeah, I'm sure you think so," Bobby said, rolling his eyes. He had become increasingly annoyed with her after Alcatraz Island. Just like Rogue, she wouldn't leave him alone. What was with all of these girls? All Bobby had wanted to do was help Kitty deal with Professor Xavier's death when he took her skating. He didn't mean anything else by it. He never had, but Rogue had taken it the wrong way negatively, and Kitty had taken it in a positive way that her falling all over herself whenever she was around him, and it drove him bonkers.

"What is all that supposed to mean? Are you mad at me or something?"

"I'm just really irritated right now, Kitty. Why don't you go find Kurt and bother him for awhile?"

"Because I've done my quota of bugging the fuzzy blue elf for the day," Kitty said giggling. "I'm glad he came back from Germany. I missed making fun of him."

"I doubt he missed it."

"Sure he did. He said so himself."

"Then if he likes it so much, go be with him. I just need some alone time now. Why does everyone keep bothering me?" Bobby pushed Kitty's arm away from his and took off down the hallway again, turning to go down the stairs as he heard Kitty call him a jerk and take off in the opposite direction herself.

As soon as Bobby got to the bottom of the stairs, he ran right into Logan, standing there with his arms crossed, growling at Bobby. He gulped as he looked up to him and smiled a little. "Hi, Logan."

"Wipe that little grin off your face, bub. You have a lot of nerve acting the way you have to Marie."

"Why do you care so much for anyway, Logan? She's not your girlfriend."

"And she's apparently not yours anymore either from what she tells me, so now I can pound your face in without having to worry about her caring."

"Logan!" came a voice from behind the two of them. They both turned to see Ororo Munroe, hands at her hips, staring at Logan in anger. "I am in charge of this place now, and I don't take kindly to you threatening the students, especially a fellow X-Man."

Logan growled again and turned back to Bobby. "You got lucky, punk." And with that, he went upstairs.

Bobby looked over to Ororo, not showing any emotion on his face. She moved over to him and gave him a brief hug. "Hey, it's ok, Bobby. Just tell me what happened."

"It doesn't matter," Bobby replied looking down.

Ororo sighed. "Things would be so much easier if I was a telepath. Charles could handle these problems so much easier then I can."

"I think you're doing a fine job as headmistress."

"Well, thank you," Ororo said smiling. "Don't you think though that you need to at least talk things out with Marie?"

"There's nothing else to talk about," Bobby replied. "It's over. I simply just want to move on."

"With Kitty?"

Bobby sighed. "Why does everyone keep thinking that for? I don't like Kitty like that."

"Alright, sorry. That was just my first feeling of why wanted this, but you need to think long and hard about this decision. You and Marie have been together since she first showed up here. I just don't want to see a good relationship vanish over something that might not be that big. So she got her powers back... Now she's the person that you fell in love with again. Doesn't that help?"

"I wasn't breaking up with her because of her powers coming back. I was breaking up for other reasons... reasons that I'd rather not talk about. I just don't think there's anything else for us to do... It's over, Miss Munroe."

Ororo nodded sadly. "Alright... If that's what you feel is right, then I won't push anymore. I just ask that you be careful. The future holds many things for all of us. We have no way to know what we'll be dealt next. I just hope you know what you're doing."

Bobby nodded. "I'm sure."

"Alright then," Ororo said. "Run along."

Bobby nodded and moved away from her, going toward the kitchen to get himself something to eat, praying that no one would be in the kitchen to bother him. However, as soon as he got there, he was sadly denied the chance to be alone. Piotr Rasputen, otherwise known as Colossus was in there eating a sandwich.

"Hello, comrade," Piotr said. "Come on in. Have something to eat."

"What? You're not gonna ridicule me over Marie?" Bobby asked as he moved over to the fridge and took out some sandwich meat and cheese.

Piotr laughed. "No, Bobby. I knew that the day would come that you two would break things off. I just didn't realize that it would happen this soon."

"You saying I've got commitment issues?" Bobby took out a couple pieces of bread and made the sandwich.

"No," Piotr replied. "I simply believed that you two had no real chemistry. Surely you know what I mean..."

Bobby sighed and moved over to the table, sitting down in front of Piotr. He nodded his head. "Yeah, I know what you're talking about, and you're probably right. I guess I was really lying to myself about it the whole time."

"Don't let it get you down," Piotr said. "There's plenty fish in the sea."

'_Yeah, but what fish am I actually searching for?'_ Bobby thought to himself. He wasn't really sure anymore. He and Rogue were basically finished for obvious reasons, but there seemed to be some subconscious reasons as well that he wasn't quite ready to accept yet... At least not until he could get a better grasp of his feelings.

"Are you alright, comrade?" Piotr asked. "You look like you've got something weighing heavily on your mind?"

"I do... But I don't want to talk about it, Piotr." Bobby finished eating his sandwich and stood up. "I'm going outside for awhile. I just need some time to myself." And with that, Bobby walked out of the kitchen and moved back toward the main lobby where the staircase to the second floor was. He walked out the front door fully intending to go directly to the gravestones Xavier, Jean, and Scott, when he stopped in complete shock as a motorcycle pulled up at the front gates. The driver pulled his helmet off to reveal the spiky dyed blonde hair and the face that had been on Bobby's mind since Alcatraz. He was still alive! The thought that had been on Bobby's mind when he woke back up after the accident with Rogue had actually come to pass with John being there at the front gate. Bobby rushed toward the gate, but stopped in complete shock when he saw who was on the back of the motorcycle with him. It was Scott Summers!


	5. Chapter 4: Reunited

Scott, Piotr, or Bobby?... Oh, My!

By JobbyShipper

Chapter 4: Reunited

The rain had slowed a few minutes before Bobby stepped outside, but getting wet wasn't concerning him at all. He was too shocked at seeing someone he believed to be dead still alive. He was completely lost in his thoughts when he was suddenly brought back to reality be Pyro's voice.

"Hey!" Pyro yelled. "Are you gonna stand there for all eternity, or are you actually going to open the gate?"

"What? Huh?" Bobby was still in his shocked state, but was starting to register what was going on. "Oh, yeah, sure."

"Well hurry up with it then! Scott's gonna die if we don't hurry!"

Bobby moved over to the gate controls and pressed the button to open the gate. Pyro put his helmet back on and zoomed into the estate. Bobby quickly pressed the button for the gate to close and then jogged over to Pyro as he got the rope untied and stepped off of the motorcycle, grabbing hold of Scott to keep him steady as he did. He quickly put Scott's left arm around his shoulder and reached over to his right leg, pulling it over to the other side so he was no longer sitting on the bike.

"Get his other arm, Bobby! Hurry!" Pyro was frantic, and scared out of his mind that he was already too late to get Scott the help that he needed.

Bobby quickly rushed to the other side and took Scott's right arm, pulling it over his shoulder. The two boys carried Scott into the Institute's front door, rushing past several students as they did. One of the students was Jubilee, a look of confusion all over her face.

"John?" she asked in confusion.

"Not now, Jubilee!" Pyro said as they arrived at the elevator that would take them down to the medical bay. Pyro quickly pressed the button to call the elevator and stood there waiting. "Come on! Come on! You can't seriously tell me that no one ever fixed this thing!"

"Maintenance costs money," Bobby simply replied.

"Yeah, well this place can afford it," Pyro informed him. "Come on, damn it!" The elevator finally opened and the carried Scott into the elevator quickly as the door closed and took them down to the sub-level of the mansion where the medical bay was located. Once the elevator opened, Pyro and Bobby carried Scott out and continued their trek to the medical bay, the door opening instantly as they moved in. Dr. Hank McCoy was already there talking to Rogue. Bobby gulped when he saw Rogue, but tried to just ignore her. She and McCoy were obviously more shocked to see that not only was Pyro with him, but Scott was being carried in by them. They quickly set him on an examination table as McCoy moved over.

"Oh, my stars and garters," McCoy whispered under his breath. He took a pulse and then looked back up in shock at the both of them. "He's still alive. I don't understand."

"It's a long story, doc," Pyro said. "Just do what you can for him."

McCoy nodded. "Yes, of course I will... But I will need privacy to concentrate. I'm sorry, but you all will have to leave. Marie, we'll continue our conversation later."

Pyro didn't want to leave Scott's side, but he felt Bobby place a hand on his shoulder and heard him say to come on and so he left. However, once outside the medical bay, Bobby felt it was time for an explanation. "What's going on, John? I think we deserve an explanation here."

Pyro sighed. "Look, you wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me," Bobby said crossing his arms.

"Yeah, John, what's happening?" Rogue asked. "Ah thought Scott was dead. How'd you find him?"

"Like I already told you, you'll think I'm crazy if I tell you. So please just let it go."

Bobby shook his head. "No. This is one of those times that you don't need to be closed minded to us. We have to be able to explain to Miss Munroe how it is that someone we thought was dead for near a week now suddenly shoes back up being helped in by a member of the Brotherhood."

"Former member," Pyro said matter-of-factly. "I'm no longer with them."

Neither Bobby nor Rogue looked like they believed him. "Look, just to us how you found Scott. You owe us that much. We'll try not to think of you as crazy. Just spit it out."

"Dr. Grey told me," Pyro replied.

Bobby and Rogue both exchanged looks of confusion and then looked back over to Pyro.

"See?" Pyro said in frustration. "I knew you two wouldn't believe me."

"It's not about believing you or not, John," Rogue said. "Dr. Grey's dead."

"Yeah, and a few minutes ago, you both thought that Scott Summers was dead, but surprise, surprise, he's not."

"If she's still alive, then where is she?" Bobby asked. "She very well could be a danger to all of us if she still lives."

"Technically she's not still alive," Pyro said.

"Now you're definitely making no sense," Bobby said shaking his head.

"Yeah, I knew you wouldn't believe me," Pyro said taking off back toward the elevator, but was stopped instantly by Bobby, grabbing his arm. "Let me go, Bobby," Pyro said, anger rising.

"No, John," Bobby said. "I didn't try to understand you before and it cost me a best friend."

Pyro turned around raising an eyebrow. "You lost your best friend because you were too busy flirting around with her all the time," he said as he motioned with his toward Rogue and then took off back toward the elevator.

Bobby was shocked. He had actually been thinking about that as a reason for John's leaving before earlier. It was Bobby's fault that he left after all. He looked over to Rogue. "Don't follow us. I need to talk to him alone." Bobby took off after Pyro, leaving Rogue feeling more confused and hurt then she had already felt.

The door to the elevator had almost closed all the way before Bobby pressed the button, and the door opened once again. Bobby saw Pyro sigh in frustration and then cross his arms. Bobby stepped on the elevator as the door closed.

"Why are you following me for?" Pyro asked.

"Because you were right," Bobby said. "It was my fault that you left in the first place."

"No, it wasn't your fault," Pyro corrected him. "It was Marie's fault."

"John," Bobby said shaking his head. "I was the one that turned all my attention to her and the only time I ever really referred to you was when I was trying to get you not to do something. That's my fault."

"Well, I still like to put all the blame on her anyway," Pyro said as the doors to the elevator opened and he stepped out, followed by Bobby.

"Alright then," Bobby said. "I won't bother defending her then. Will you just tell me the whole story behind this Jean thing?"

Pyro sighed in frustration as he moved down the hallway toward the front entrance, rushing past the students that were still crowded around the hallway. Jubilee once again tried to say something, but Pyro just shushed her as he kept moving. He emerged from the mansion and moved over to his motorcycle again. Bobby followed him out there.

"John, don't leave," Bobby pleaded.

"Why shouldn't I?" Pyro asked.

"Cause I don't want to loose you again," Bobby blurted out before he could even stop himself. Had he actually said that? There was no way he could take it back now, but the point of the matter was, he was telling the truth.

This completely stopped Pyro in his tracks as he looked up to Bobby, not entirely sure what he meant there. He sighed as he looked down to the ground. _'He doesn't want to loose me again? Why does he care if I just walk out of life once again?'_

"Please come back inside," Bobby said, doing his best to show Pyro his best puppy dog face.

"Oh, God, put that face away," Pyro said disgusted. "You know I can't resist it... Damn it, Bobby."

"Well, come on inside. I'll get a something to eat from the kitchen. Are you hungry?"

"Starving. I haven't eaten in forever it seems."

Bobby moved over to Pyro and put an arm around his shoulder, leading him back inside. "Then let's get that food for ya and we'll finish talking about what's going on with this whole thing with Cyclops. How about that?"

"I guess... Why are you being so kind to me though? I tried to kill you on..."

"Hey, let's not discuss our past. Let's just look to the future now that you're back. That's all that really matters, John."

"Yeah, ok. Whatever."

Upon finally arriving in the kitchen, Pyro saw Piotr in there eating another sandwich. Pyro saw a lot of potential there. Piotr definitely wasn't called Colossus for nothing. Sure Pyro was committed to Scott, but he couldn't help but take a glance at Piotr's bulging muscles as they rippled out of his tight black shirt. He was near drooling before Bobby brought him back to reality by handing him a soda bottle.

"Oh, thanks, Bobby. Good to see ya, Piotr."

"I heard the commotion of your arrival back, comrade," Piotr stated, not even looking his way. "Glad to see you wised up."

Pyro half way chuckled, more or less sarcastically. "Yeah, I guess." I sat down at the table, but not close to where Piotr was, as he didn't want to get knocked out by the huge, sexy muscle man. He never really got to know Piotr all that well when he was at the Institute before as the only people he associated himself with were Bobby and Rogue, with the occasional conversation with Scott, Miss Munroe, or Professor Xavier. Pyro just hadn't had any interest in Piotr before, but now that he was back and had finally accepted himself for what he really was, he couldn't help, but be just a tad curious what it would be like if he was with Piotr. Lots of possibilities were open when it came to that, and he just shivered at the thought of it all.

Bobby brought over a plate of spaghetti that he'd warmed up in the microwave. "It's leftovers," he informed as he sat down. "But it's good. I'm sure you remember how the spaghetti tastes here."

"Yeah... How could I forget?" Pyro started eating the food rather quickly, not even caring that Bobby and Piotr were probably watching him in shock as he did. It had been quite awhile since he'd actually had something good to eat. He had robbed a few restaurants on the drive back to Westchester County when he left San Francisco, after picking up his motorcycle from the woods where he'd hid it, but it even then wasn't much, just enough food to get by. By the time he got back to Magneto's fortress, he became shockingly aware that there was no food there, as the place had apparently been raided. It was a major blow, but he was just thankful to be able to eat food again.

"Slow down," Piotr said. "You're going to get chocked up."

Pyro stopped eating and finally looked up at the both of them with their shocked faces. He just smiled. "Yeah, sorry. It's been awhile since I've had anything to eat."

"It's alright, John," Bobby said. "You won't have to worry about starving any longer if you remain here... I hope you do."

"That is what Dr. Grey wanted after all..."

Piotr was confused. "What?"

"Don't worry about it, Piotr," Bobby said. "Could you give John and me a few here? We need to discuss something."

"Sure. I was going to go to the pool for some laps anyway." Piotr stood up and left, taking what was left of his sandwich with him.

'_Taking laps around the pool, huh?'_ Pyro thought to himself. _'Piotr all wet and shirtless... Now that would be a nice sight to behold...'_

"So, John, what's with all this stuff about Dr. Grey?" Bobby asked.

"Well, apparently she and Scott had a little accident at Alkali Lake," Pyro informed.

"Yeah, Logan and Miss Munroe found Dr. Grey unconscious. But they couldn't find Cyclops anywhere."

"That's because they didn't look hard enough. He was thrown half a mile into the woods, but before that happened, there was some sort of... What would you call it?"

"_Power transference, John,"_ Jean Grey's echo said.

"Yeah, a power transference of some sort," Pyro said. "A small part of her lives on inside Scott's subconscious mind, Bobby. I know that's a stretch, but the fact is, she was the one thing that was keeping Scott alive, and is still keeping him alive while Dr. McCoy works on him. His spine suffered massive damage when he crashed into a tree. If it hadn't been for her holding him together for so long, he would've died instantly most likely."

"Alright, but that still doesn't explain to me why Dr. Grey choose to ask you for help over someone from here."

"I can't tell you that, Bobby."

"Why not?"

"Because it's a personal issue that I don't know I can trust you with."

Bobby sighed. This was getting nowhere. He had to figure out a way to get Bobby to open up to him. "How about this. We'll go up to the old dorm room and continue this there where we know we won't be bothered by anyone walking in, like could happen here. No one else uses that dorm. It's stayed empty."

"Empty? You don't use it anymore?"

"After I became an X-Man, they gave me one of the bigger rooms on the other side of the mansion... Besides, I think all of your stuff is still in the old room. We never moved any of it out, and you never came back to at the very least get your stuff, so the place is basically like it was left, except my stuff was moved to my new room. Come on. Let's go up there."

"Yeah, whatever." Pyro finished the spaghetti, stood up and walked out of the room with Bobby following after him as they made their journey toward the dorm room that they once shared together not too awful long ago.


	6. Chapter 5: One on One Time

Scott, Piotr, or Bobby?... Oh, My!

By JobbyShipper

Chapter 5: One on One Time

Bobby opened the door to the room and allowed Pyro to enter first before he entered and closed the door, locking it so they'd have some privacy. Pyro looked around the room, easily remembering the history that was shared in this very room. He sighed just thinking about it. Sure, half the room was missing since Bobby's stuff had been moved out, but it still basically almost looked the same even still.

"I need to change," Pyro said. "Riding on a motorcycle in the pouring rain does have its downside."

Bobby nodded. "Sure. I'll wait in your bathroom. I need to use it anyway. Nature calls."

Pyro watched Bobby walk into the bathroom, closing the door and then shook his head. He moved over to the closet and opened the door, seeing all his old clothes still there. The thing he noticed most was his old brown leather jacket. He smiled as he pulled it out, admiring it, simply remembering.

"Are you descent?" Bobby's voice said, muffled through the bathroom door.

"Sorry, Bobby. I haven't even changed yet."

"Well, take your time... I'll just be standing here."

"Thanks," Pyro said. "I might just keep you in there all day then."

"Not funny, John."

Pyro smiled as he moved back over to the closet and took out a pair jeans and a tee-shirt. He took off his clothes and boots, leaving on his small, portable lighter pack, and put the new clothes on, not even putting his boots back on as he didn't need them at the moment. He moved over to his bed and sat down.

"Alright, it's safe to come out now," Pyro stated.

Bobby opened the door and stepped out again moving over to sit down on the bed that used to belong to him. He noticed that Pyro was looking down at the floor, pretty much unwilling to say anything. Of course, Bobby figured the reason for that was because Pyro felt uncomfortable being back at the mansion after everything that he'd done.

"A lot of memories here," Bobby said, trying to break the silence. "We were roommates for a long time after all. It's amazing how this place almost looks exactly the same..."

"And I wouldn't change it either," Pyro replied, still not looking up. "I would like to remember the good times... Especially our friendship... I regret what I did now... leaving like I did... I disappointed you and so many others..."

"Is that why you look so upset?" Bobby stupidly asked, but he needed to keep Pyro talking, so it was the best he had. "You still haven't gotten over abandoning us? John, you've got to let that go before it eats you alive, and you end up leaving again. I don't think I could stand loosing my best friend again."

At this point, Pyro actually did look up and turned to Bobby. Bobby's face seemed to be showing that he was true to what he was saying. What he said helped a little, but they weren't even really talking about the problems that he was really having most. He was worried to death about Scott, whether he would survive down in the medical bay. Dr. McCoy could only do so much.

"Thanks for that," Pyro stated, "But the reason I'm upset isn't what you're thinking. You wouldn't understand what's really going through my head."

Bobby leaned forward since he finally had Pyro's attention and got dead serious. "John Allerdyce, don't you dare start blocking me out again. This is one of the things that caused the rift between us in the first place. You never explain anything to me... It really gets on my nerves. Now start talking before I turn you into a Popsicle."

Pyro lit up his lighter pack and showed the flames Bobby. "You wouldn't dare." Pyro narrowed his eyes when he saw that Bobby was smiling. Pyro rolled his eyes. Bobby was obviously just joking around. Pyro turned off his lighter pack and just looked away again. "It's a long and really complicated story, Bobby. I don't think you have the attention span to keep up with it."

Bobby smirked. "You remember that, huh? Well, how about this? I'll do my best to keep up with you and pay complete attention if you just tell me. I've always wondered what it is that goes on your mind... And besides, you don't exactly seem like the same person that used to live here... You seem like you've got a lot of different baggage then the cocky Pyro I remember... It's just from the way you talk and act... Why don't you start with that? What happened to the old Pyro?"

"My attitude change started a little after I left here. Magneto knew about my attitude problem, and he wasn't too fond of it. He told me that my arrogance would get me killed in battle someday, and he simply couldn't have that. So he taught me everything he knew about meditation so it would help me to quiet my mind... However, I think what ended up happening was I did it far too often and for way too long, or something... I don't really know what it was for sure but I started feeling less and less like my old cocky self."

Bobby shrugged. "You seemed like the same Pyro, if not worse, when you saw me at that Worthington Clinic in San Francisco trying to find Rogue. I saw arrogance all over you. How do you explain that?"

Pyro smiled. "It's called putting on a façade, Bobby. I'd learned how to do that as well. I should've been an actor. I had to in order to make sure that Magneto and Mystique didn't get suspicious of my changing behavior. If either one of them had ever figured out that I'd become such an emotional wreck, they would've either tried to start messing with my mind or worse, thrown me out of the Brotherhood. I couldn't stand to loose yet another family... Of course I lost the first one by choice, but you know what I mean. So I was always pretending to act like I used to in order to keep suspicion away. I felt I had no choice but to act the way I did at that clinic, because I had a feeling that someone else from the Brotherhood followed me there to make sure that I got the job done. I think it was Callisto. The last thing I needed was for her to tell Magneto that something was up with me."

"John, if you were going through all of this, you should've just come back here," Bobby explained. "The Professor could've helped you... I could've helped you."

Pyro stood up and walked to the other side of the room, trying to clear his head. "Oh, yeah... Like I want the Professor in my head messing around, trying to change my feelings and views on things..." He turned back to face Bobby. "And what makes you so sure that you could help me? What could you do? Try to offer me a little advice, and then, when it's most convenient for you, you just start ignoring me again and focus all your time on Marie? We'd be right back to square one."

Bobby stood up and walked over to Pyro. "Now that is not one bit fair, John. Given that I admitted to that being part of the reason for you leaving, you can't just jump to conclusions that I'd so willingly do the same thing again. And the Professor would have never messed with your mind either. He wasn't the kind of person that would so willingly do something just to fit his view of things. That's Magneto talking."

Pyro smiled one of his wicked smiles. "You might wanna ice over, Iceman. Your temperature is rising." Pyro moved past Bobby and over to the bed again, not even looking back at him.

Bobby quickly rushed John as his back was turned and took him down onto his bed, pinning him down. "I didn't want to have to do this, but if I have to, I'll leave you pinned down till you tell me what is wrong with you. Now start talking, John."

Pyro started laughing as soon as he hit the mattress; because he knew that Bobby was gonna do something like that. "You're so predictable, Bobby." Pyro quickly reared up his free left hand and elbowed him right in the side of the head. He wasn't able to react fast enough to this, and Pyro managed to turn himself around and spear Bobby onto his own bed, pinning down his arms as he sat on the other boy. "And you also never learned that you have to secure both arms, or you've left your enemy a way to attack you. The question is, what do I want out of you? I'm not the one trying to get information, so what should I do with you... hmm... possibilities, possibilities..."

Bobby tried to move his arms unsuccessfully. "You're stronger then I remember." Bobby tried to move his legs next to knee him in the back, but his thighs were pinned down by Pyro's butt so he couldn't even do that. Bobby was stuck unless he actually started using his powers, and so far, they weren't, and he didn't want to get in trouble with Miss Munroe, who probably didn't even know that Pyro was back yet. "Listen, John, I just wanna help you. Come on. Tell me the whole story. Going off of only half doesn't really help me much. Please let me up. I give."

Pyro frowned. "What? You're not even gonna use your powers? What a wimp. Still afraid of getting in trouble with Miss Munroe, I see. Some things just never change, and you're obviously it." Pyro got off of Bobby and sat back down on his old bed. He simply shook his head as he watched Bobby sit back up and look at him, waiting for him to say something. "What? You really do expect me to keep talking, don't ya?"

"Well, that was the idea, yeah." Bobby said, smiling.

Pyro stood up and moved over to the window, looking outside to see some students playing. He sighed. "Ya know... I wish now that you had come after me when I left the jet back at Alkali Lake... I wonder what my life would've been like if you had gone after me... I guess I'll never know now, but I at least know that it would be a life of not being considered a fugitive of the law, cause that's what I am, Bobby. After all I've done, I belong in jail."

Bobby stood up and moved over to Pyro at the window. "Hey, that doesn't matter. You did the right thing bringing Scott back here and actually not leaving when I begged you to stay. You're back where you belong now, and as long as you don't run off and do anything stupid again, everything will remain alright. Just promise me that you'll never leave here again."

Pyro sighed as he continued to look out the window. "Yeah, you don't have to worry about it. I don't plan on leaving again. I may have been stupid before, but thanks to Dr. Grey, I've wised up. This is where I belong. There's no way avoiding that." Pyro turned to look at Bobby. "So you don't have to worry yourself. I won't be you again." Pyro winked to him and smiled as he looked back out the window, not even realizing what he'd just said.

Bobby's mouth dropped and his eyes enlarged at what Pyro had said and from winking at him. "What! That's not what I was saying, John... I was saying... that you can't leave... here... That's what I said."

Pyro laughed. "Yeah, sure. That's what you said, but did you notice who you stumbled over your words right there? You know I'm telling the truth. You missed me, and you don't want me to leave you again. Admit it." Pyro was really enjoying this for some strange reason. He had always liked torturing Bobby in one way or another, but this was a tactic he didn't ever use before. It was strange, but for some reason, he actually liked all of it, and he didn't quite know why... But then it hit him as he thought about it. He was almost half-way flirting with Bobby! It was then that he knew he'd never done that before to Bobby. He'd never shown any interest in liking him in any other way then just best friendship, but something else was happening at that point.

Bobby sighed and crossed his arms. "You've just always gotta be the joker in this place, don't you?"

A joke? Was that what it was? Was he just joking around with him like he always did, or was it something more? No, it couldn't have been something more. That was ridiculous. They were both best friends. Pyro's feelings were for Scott... and to a lesser extent Piotr... weren't they? He was feeling a headache coming on just thinking about it. Apparently not only his change in attitude had occurred. He was had a change in being able to make coherent decisions. He apparently didn't even know what he wanted anymore. Did he still want Scott, the one guy that he'd always wanted to be with most? Did he want Piotr, just out of simply lust for his body? Or did he really want Bobby? Pyro tried to shake the thoughts away as he finally replied.

"So if I'm the joker, what does that make you? Harley Quinn?"

Bobby narrowed his eyes. "That's not funny, John," But even he couldn't keep from smiling, cause it really was funny. Sometimes it was good to hear his jokes, despite the others. However, with his apparent change in attitude, Bobby had a feeling that their friendship would be able to get even better then it was before Pyro had even left. "But ya know, you look like you've still got something weighing on your mind. I need to know what else you've got on your mind. What have you not told me?"

Pyro had given himself away with all the thinking that he'd been doing apparently. There was no way he could lie and get out of it. Bobby would know if he was lying, so he had little choice here. "It's nothing, Bobby. Honestly, don't worry about it."

Bobby put a hand on Pyro's shoulder. "Hey, don't block me out again. I don't want to have to take you down again."

"Little good it would do you, because I will always manage to turn it around on you, Iceboy." Pyro brushed Bobby's hand away from his shoulder and crossed his arms.

Bobby raised an eyebrow. "Iceboy? Oh, now it's on." Bobby quickly pounced, grabbing hold of Pyro's neck with his left arm, trying to chock him out.

Pyro simply sighed as Bobby had once again left his arms open. Pyro grabbed hold of Bobby and lifted up with what strength he did have, but since Bobby wasn't very heavy, it wasn't hard to take him down as they both crashed on Pyro's old bed. He rolled over, pinning Bobby down once more.

"Now let's see," Pyro began, "this looks familiar, but I think last time we were on your old bed... Yeah, that's right. I thought this was familiar. How many times do I have to tell you, Bobby? You've got to take out someone's arms. And to think, Miss Munroe an Logan actually think you're X-Men material."

"I am an X-Man, unlike you, John. Now let me up."

"Sorry, but you're wrong. I don't think I'll be letting you up this time."

Bobby was shocked. "Seriously, let me up. This makes me uncomfortable."

"Why don't you get yourself up? I don't have to do what you tell me, and besides, I'm not that heavy. At some point, you've gotta let your own strength take over, or you'll never win a fair fight."

"A fair fight? Why have I gotta fight fairly for? Because you haven't used your powers so I shouldn't either." Bobby started lifting up on Pyro's arms, trying to gain some strength to push Pyro off of him, and he was stating to get some success, but Pyro was still sitting on him so he had to get him completely off before he'd be able to move his legs.

Pyro smiled and pushed Bobby back down to the bed. "Ha! As Nala said in The Lion King, 'pinned ya again'." Pyro laughed a little as he noticed that Bobby was still trying to get out of Pyro's grip. "You might as well just give it up, Bobby. You'll never get up."

Bobby sighed as he stopped struggling. "Then what are you planning on doing? I'm not sure if we can stay like this forever. Someone will eventually come looking for either of us... Probably you, considering that once Miss Munroe finds out that you're here, she'll want an explanation... What will you say then, huh? Honestly, what do you plan on doing, cause this close proximity is getting really... umm... really..." Bobby couldn't even finish what he was trying to say. He was way too distracted just looking into Pyro's eyes.

Pyro's smile widened. "Really what? You're not quite sure what to say, eh? I don't blame ya. I would be the same way if I was in your position."

What was Pyro currently feeling? His heart was racing. He was breathing more heavily then normal, and he could tell that Bobby was as well. This wasn't the first time that the two of them had done horseplay like this before, but for some reason, this time it felt much different then it used to. Perhaps it was because Pyro had changed so much and fully embraced how he was. Maybe he really did feel something for Bobby. He wasn't sure, and he had the feeling that Bobby wasn't sure either.

"Ya know," Pyro said quietly. "I think I just figured out what it is that I'm gonna do." Pyro leaned down and claimed Bobby's lips with his own. It was a strange feeling, as it was just his second kiss, but it actually felt really good.

Bobby was in complete shock when Pyro kissed him. He couldn't believe it was actually happening. However, because of this strange feeling, and the fact that he felt a little negative about it, he realized that Pyro had relaxed on his strength against him, so he quickly pushed off of Pyro and rolled off the bed, jumping back up immediately.

"What the hell, John!" Bobby was breathing more heavily and felt his face turn completely red from embarrassment.

Pyro sat up on the bed and gulped. "I'm sorry, Bobby... I couldn't help it."

Bobby raised an eyebrow. "Couldn't help it? John, today isn't the first time that we've rough housed before. We used to all the time, and yet nothing like that's ever happened. You've changed more then I originally thought you did."

Pyro stood up off the bed, but kept his distance so he didn't scare Bobby or something. "Dude, I've always been this way. That is what I was hiding from you for all these years. It's something that I'd been hiding from everyone my whole life, because I was afraid of how everyone would act... especially you. I know I shouldn't have done it, and I'm sorry for kissing you without your permission. I just couldn't stop myself."

"You couldn't stop yourself? Haven't you ever heard of self control before? Damn, John... You can't just do something like that. That's like committing sexual harassment. I could turn you in to Miss Munroe if I wanted to for something like that and you'd be right back on the street without a second chance at all."

Pyro sat back down on the bed and looked down. "If that's what you feel you need to do, then do it. I'll accept whatever punishment I end up getting..."

Bobby sighed and moved over to him, sitting down next to him on the bed. "I said 'if I wanted to', and I don't want to. The last thing you need is more trouble after everything that's happened. I just wish you hadn't been so dang direct with that. That was the last thing I expected you to do. Have you always had these feelings for me?"

"Well, no... That's why it's so strange for me that I actually wanted to do that. It's nothing against you. I've just always thought of you as only a best friend... I don't know what caused me to... Wait... Yes, I do know what caused it... It's so obvious to me now... See, I guess I might as well tell you the whole story since you already know part of it... I was in love with Scott for a long time... ever since the first time I had one of his auto mechanics classes actually."

"Hold the phone! That explains it! That's why Dr Grey went to you to help Scott... She knew about your feelings for him, and so she figured that you were the person connected to him most... And plus she wanted you back where you belonged all at the same time... It all makes sense now."

"Yeah, I guess it does... See, even though I'm in love with Scott, I've still got this little problem inside me that is just dying to get me to experiment with someone else... I was actually checking out Piotr when we were in the kitchen, trying to picture what he'd be like... And even before that, I couldn't help but miss you all the time. At the time, I thought it was just because you were my best friend, and I just missed getting hang out with you and talk about little things... But maybe now it's finally coming together for once... All this time I really had feelings for you as well... Not just Scott... Wow... Simply amazing... I guess, deep down, I always had a thing for you... I just never realized it till now..."

"Ya know, I used to think that you had a thing for Marie, and that you were always like challenging me for her... Boy was I ever wrong..."

Pyro laughed. "Well, actually I was doing that for two reasons. The first reason was because I didn't want you or Marie to start believing I really was gay. I just wasn't willing to trust anyone back then, and I'm sorry for that. However, the other reason was because I was really just trying to keep you on your toes... and at the same time, trying to get your attention back to me. You were the only real friend I had, and I felt more and more like you were just vanishing out of my life... I'm just sorry that all of my problems have no made their way to you... And about kissing you without your permission..."

"Don't worry about it, John. It's nothing to get too worked up about. I calmed down, didn't I? I could've rushed out of here, but I didn't. I wanted to find out why you did that and try to understand it, and now I do, and I promise you that I won't tell anyone. You trust whoever you feel you need to trust with it, but just know that my lips will not sink your ship... And just for the record, if that was your first kiss, you really need to work on how you kiss someone, cause that was bad."

Pyro's mouth dropped as he gave Bobby a playful hit on the shoulder. "That's not funny. And for your information, it was my second... But Scott was unconscious when I did it."

Bobby's eyes enlarged. "No... You didn't."

"I'm afraid I did... I couldn't stop myself... I had no control..."

"What did Dr. Grey's echo think of that?"

"She figured I was gonna do it anyway... She wasn't upset... But about the kissing, you know, I haven't had practice like you and Marie have."

"Don't say that so soon. We haven't been able to kiss very often. A couple times when she had her powers, cause I figured out a way to keep her from hurting me, that didn't work very well after all, and for the couple days that she was cured... Oh, yeah... speaking of which, the cure's not permanent. She's got her powers back."

Pyro was in shock over this. "What? It's temporary? You've got to be kidding me?"

"I kid you not, man," Bobby replied shaking her head. "I think we basically broke things off right before we came to the realization that it had happened... She slapped me really hard because of something I said, and my powers transferred into her. Hardest, most powerful slap I've ever felt..."

"I can't believe it... You two actually broke up... and on the same day that I came back... I'd almost say it was like a sign..."

Bobby decided to ignore that for the moment. "I can say that I'm a little better then you at kissing. You were like all over the place like you were some sort of fish trying to devour my lips or something. Now that I think back to it, I think that's the real reason I moved away. I thought you were gonna bite my lips off."

"Well, maybe I just haven't had the right person to teach me how to actually do it correctly, Bobby. When you've been single all your life, it's kinda hard to learn this kind of thing." At this point, Pyro was staring directly at Bobby's lips. He actually wanted to claim them again, but knew that he couldn't. What was wrong with him? He was wanting to kiss his best friend! He had to have completely lost his mind. He turned away from Bobby and just looked down at the floor, trying to get the feelings to go away unsuccessfully.

Bobby noticed that John had been looking at his lips the whole time that he had said that he didn't have someone to teach him how to kiss correctly. Bobby had this sinking feeling that Pyro had wanted to kiss him again. Bobby figured that Pyro had still been thinking about actually leaving again, and he didn't want that at all. Perhaps he could help keep Pyro from leaving if he went out with him. It wasn't like Rogue was in the way anymore anyway. Maybe Bobby had been destined to end up with John all along and that Rogue had just been a kink in the great scheme of things... But could Bobby really see himself with another guy? He never would've imagined it in his wildest dreams, but he couldn't help but feel really bad for John right then after all he'd already went through. Perhaps he really did need his help, but what would I say to everyone else? He couldn't very well tell them the truth. It would send some off the deep end, especially Rogue if she started to think that Bobby had only left her because he was planning on getting together with John Allerdyce all along.

Bobby looked down at John's hand, the one nearest to him, and took it into his. Bobby saw him look up to him in shock that Bobby had actually taken his hand. Bobby smiled, but he couldn't help but think about whether or not he could go through with having a relationship with John. He kept wondering about it over and over again in his head unable to really make a complete decision. He did take his hand after all, but he wasn't even sure what that had really meant. They had really bonded again and better then ever before it seemed already. Bobby looked into John's eyes trying to decide what to do, and then he finally took the bull by the horns, leaned in, and kissed John, showing him how someone really kissed. He pulled away after a moment and looked back into his eyes again, his lips quivering.

"That's how you're supposed to kiss someone," Bobby whispered.

Needless to say, Pyro err John, as he seemed to manage to revert back into, was in complete shock that Bobby kissed him. He was speechless obviously. He wasn't even sure what he was feeling. It was his third kiss and it was definitely a lot better then the second one for sure, possibly better the first as well, since it wasn't even returned, but John just didn't expect it. "Really?" John finally managed to get out. "I think you're right... That felt good."

"Well then, why don't you give it a try? Let's see how good a learner you are."

John gulped, feeling nervous that Bobby was actually gonna let him kiss him this time. John leaned in a little and almost backed out of it until Bobby came the rest of the way. John claimed his lips doing my best to mimic what he had done seconds before. As much as John wanted to just keep kissing him, he pulled away and looked into Bobby's eyes. "Well, was that any better?"

"Yeah... Believe it or not, it was." Bobby smiled. "Either you're a fast learner, or I'm a good teacher. I'm not sure which."

"I believe it's just that you're a really good teacher. I'm glad I did better that time. I really didn't want it to feel like I was gonna bite your lips off again." John laughed. "That wouldn't have been good."

Bobby smiled. "Nah, I had faith that you wouldn't screw up this time. You always do better after the first time you kiss someone... So let's try it again." Bobby leaned in and kissed John again, and they continued kissing, not wanting to every let go of the new feeling that they had been experiencing. John and Bobby were together again, and better then ever before.


	7. Chapter 6: The Trial Run

Scott, Piotr, or Bobby?... Oh, My!

By JobbyShipper

Chapter 6: The Trial Run

Author's Note: Sorry it took so long for the next chapter. I've been busy with RPGs, and just haven't been able to decide exactly what to do to keep the story going, so this chapter is mainly exposition that will hopefully lead into some better stuff for the chapter afterwards.

John and Bobby had both stared at each other for the longest time after finally ending their make out season. They were both still shocked that they'd managed to get together in this manor. It was one of those circumstances where they didn't quite believe what was going on or what was running through their heads. It was definitely an amazing feeling nonetheless.

Suddenly the intercom throughout the mansion echoed with Dr. Hank McCoy's voice. "If John Allerdyce is still here, I need him to come down to The War Room immediately."

John sighed. "I guess that's my cue to leave then."

"I'll come with you," Bobby said. "If you're needed at the war room, it probably means that Miss Munroe knows you're here and wants answers. I want to be there for you."

"Good, cause I don't think I could go in there and face them without you," John said.

Bobby smiled and stood up, helping John to his feet as well. They left the room and made their way down the hallway to the central facilities where the elevator was. During their ride down, they kissed a little more, since no one else was in the elevator. Once the elevator stopped at the sub-basement, they got out and made their way to the war room. Upon entering, they both saw what they expected. Dr. McCoy and Ororo Munroe were both in there, but Logan was there as well. John gulped just at the presence of Logan, hoping that he wouldn't be attacked.

"Bobby, I think it would be best if you left," Ororo stated.

"But I think I'm needed here," Bobby said.

"Bobby..." Ororo began, but was abruptly cut off by John.

"Please, just let him stay," John pleaded. "If he doesn't stay, I leave. I'm uncomfortable enough as is."

"And you don't think we're uncomfortable, bub?" Logan asked. "I don't particularly like the stench of Magneto's number one ass kisser in this mansion."

"Logan!" Ororo demanded powerfully. She turned back to John and Bobby. "Take seats."

John and Bobby both sat down side by side. Bobby slipped his hand into John's from under the table so that the three other X-Men wouldn't see it as they were on the opposite end of the long table. John was relieved that Bobby was holding his hand. It really did help to keep him calm.

"The first and most obvious question that needs to be asked is about Scott," Ororo stated. "We thought he was dead. He had been as such from what we knew for nearly a week now since its Friday and he died on Monday back when all this _stuff_ with the cure occurred." She said the word stuff in a very angry way like she still hadn't gotten over the absurdity of the cure itself. "So what we need to know is how Scott is still live and how you found him, because when Logan and I arrived at Alkali Lake, he was nowhere in sight."

I hesitated. It was one thing to tell Bobby about Dr. Grey, but to start telling everyone about it would probably make them all think that I'd gone crazy, but to my own astonishment, I didn't have to say a think, as Dr. Grey's voice resonated to everyone in the room.

'_Hello, Ororo... Logan... Hank... I will give you the answers you need. John doesn't need you thinking that he's crazy, which I know that he's afraid you will.'_

Logan stood up, looking everywhere in shock. "Jeannie?"

"_Yes, Logan," the voice replied. "It's me."_

"How is this possible?" McCoy asked in complete shock.

'_It was a power transference,' the voice replied. 'I had a little accident let's say with Scott at the lake when I first woke up. My powers weren't exactly back to full form yet, and he was set into the forest about a half mile from where I was found by the both of you. A small part of my consciousness lives on in Scott's subconscious.'_

"This kind of telepathic event has never occurred before," McCoy stated. "Would it be possible to run tests without causing problems between your consciousness and his own?"

'_Yes, I'm sure you'll be able to do so, Hank. Always the scientist. It's good to see that some things will never change. But now that those questions have been cleared, I must rest. My power is limited inside Scott, but at least now, he may rest at ease knowing that a small part of me will always be with him. I'm sorry that the same could not be done for you Logan.'_

And with that, voice was silent, as was the rest of the room. Ororo propped her elbows on the desk and folded her hands together as she looked back to John, still not quite understanding every. "Why did she go to you, John? Why didn't she talk to us?"

"I don't really know," John lied. He wasn't about to tell everyone in this room of the feelings that he had for Scott, nor was he going to tell them about his feelings for Bobby now either. Neither were any of their business.

"You're lying, bub," Logan said. "We want the truth."

John considered telling him that he couldn't handle the truth, which almost brought a smile to his face, but he tried his best to not do so. He decided instead to give a variation of the truth. "She knew I didn't belong with the Brotherhood and talked me into helping her out and helping myself all at the same time. She could tell how upset I was being with them, and had me come home where I belong. That's all. She just wanted to help me."

Ororo sighed. "That does seem like something Jean would do, Logan."

"I still think he's hiding something," Logan said. "What if it's really the Phoenix personality in Scott and not Jean? Phoenix was working with the Brotherhood just like Pyro there. This could be a joint scheme to try to kill us all."

John sighed. "It's not, Logan. It's far from it. I don't follow Magneto anymore. He abandoned me to die on Alcatraz Island, and that put things into perspective for me. You have nothing to worry about. I'm not planning on burning the mansion down or anything. That I can promise you."

"I believe him," McCoy said. "He sounds true to what he says."

"Some people are natural born actors, fur ball," Logan said. "We can't trust him."

"You do realize I don't like to be called that, don't you?" McCoy asked, becoming frustrated.

"Gentlemen," Ororo stated. "That's enough. Now, I don't know what Charles would do in this situation, because he could read minds and would know if someone was telling them the truth or not. However, I tend to believe in giving someone a second chance, and it's obvious to me that Bobby's already welcomed him back, so I'm going to allow him to stay on a temporary basis. You'll have to earn the trust of us back, John. Trust is hard to come by, and it'll be hard on you being here again, but if this is what you want, and you really do want to be here again, I will accept you back."

John heard Logan scoff at this and stand up. He moved over to the door. "I don't like this 'Ro. You're making a mistake, and I'm not sticking around to see it made. I'll have my X-phone if I'm actually needed. Otherwise, don't call me." And with that, he left the room.

Ororo shook her head and sighed as she turned to McCoy. "Jean's right... Some things just never change." She looked back over to John and Bobby, still not really taking much notice to how close together the two were sitting. She cleared her throat. "Anyway, that is what you want right? You want a second chance?"

John nodded his head slowly. "Yes, I would like that very much... I know it's gonna be hard, but I've got Bobby here to help me out." He looked over to Bobby and smiled, who in turn smiled back.

"Alright then," Ororo said. "It's settled. I'll let you both go with Dr. McCoy to the lab so you can see Scott if you like."

John nodded. "Yeah, that would be nice. Thanks." John and Bobby let go of their grip holding each other's hands and stood up moving to the door. McCoy got up as well and walked out of the room with them. Ororo just sat there for awhile, trying to figure everything out for herself.

Upon entering the Medical Bay, Hank moved directly over to the examination table that Scott was lying on. He was no longer in the street clothes that he had been wearing when John brought him in. He was in a nightgown of some sort and there was a blanket covering him up. He was still wearing his shades though incase his eyes were to open either by accident or should he wake up. John stood by the bed with Bobby right beside him, putting a reassuring hand on John's shoulder. Scott definitely looked peaceful, which was a good thing, because with not only Scott, but Dr. Grey in his head as well, there was no telling what could be going on in there.

"I've stabilized him for the time being," McCoy finally said as he was turning on a device that he'd be using to scan Scott's brain. "I had to perform a surgery for his spinal problems, which I'm still in complete confusion over how he survived that ordeal. However, he'll be alright in about a day or so I hope. For now, he's still unconscious. I can't bring him out of it for some reason, but I'm sure that it's just from the shock of everything."

"He's not in a coma?" John asked worried.

"Not that I can tell," McCoy replied. "But he could slip into one. That is why I've been keeping such a close watch on his vitals.

"It's ok now, Scott," John whispered to him. "You're gonna be ok..." He put a hand on Scott's shoulder, and had to keep himself from crying.

"Come on, John. Let's get out of here," Bobby whispered to him. "You don't need to see anymore of this."

John nodded and looked up to Dr. McCoy. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, John," McCoy said, not really taking notice of anything that was happening as he was too busy getting the equipment that he was using ready. "I'll keep you both posted if there's any change as I said before. Do not worry."

And with that, John and Bobby both turned and left the medical bay, returning to the elevator. On the trip up, Bobby looked to John, trying to read what he was thinking.

"You still love him, don't you?" Bobby asked.

"It's hard not to after I've had feelings for him for so long, Bobby, but that doesn't mean that I want to just forget about us. You and I have something here. I'm not sure what yet, but I've just got a feeling that it's going to help me get over Scott."

Bobby smiled. "There was the answer I was looking for."

And with that, they both kissed passionately, not even noticing that the elevator door had opened or that Jubilee was standing there when it did. Her eyes enlarged at the sight before her and she actually screamed. They both stopped kissing and looked to her in shock as she took off away from the two of them still screaming.

"Shit," John said. "You can't keep a secret in this place."

"Come on," Bobby said. "We better stop her before she tells the whole school."

And with that, the two boys took off in the direction that Jubilee had gone. Things were about to get worse for them if they didn't get her to keep her mouth shut, but they'd worry about that as soon as they caught up with the Asian Firecracker.


	8. Chapter 7: Can't Keep Secrets

Scott, Piotr, or Bobby?... Oh, my!

By Jobby Shipper

Chapter 7: Can't Keep Secrets

The chase had been a short one as Jubilee was no where near fast enough to get away from neither John nor Bobby. However, that wasn't really Jubilee's problem as she managed to run right into a teleporting in Kurt Wagner. She screamed when she suddenly saw him there as she still hadn't really gotten used to seeing his appearance. However, Kurt wasn't exactly concerned about that, as he had been a little further down the hallway when he heard all the running.

"Vas is going on here?" he asked. Kurt then looked up to Bobby and John as they arrived. He raised an eyebrow. "Well?"

"Like, oh, my God, Professor Wagner," Jubilee said. "You're not gonna believe what I..."

"You didn't see anything!" John yelled out, pulling out his lighter, ready to attack her.

Bobby quickly pulled John's hand down. "John, no!"

"But she's gonna..." he started, but was cut off by Bobby.

"No!" Bobby commanded. "I know you want to set her hair on fire, but you're not going to. You don't need to get thrown out of here. If she tells then..."

"I'll just have to kill her later if she does!"

"Alright, that's enough!" Kurt said, crossing his arms. "Someone start talking here. Vas is this all about?"

"Well, it's just that..." Jubilee looked over to John and Bobby. John was looking at her in total anger and Bobby seemed to be pleading with her not to say anything. She didn't know what to do. She had always been quite the talker. She loved to gossip, and this was at the top of the list of greatest things ever to gossip about... But did she want to ruin a relationship, just because she'd accidentally saw something that she shouldn't have, and in the process end up being set on fire whether now or later? She wasn't so sure she wanted to risk it or not.

"I'm waiting, Jubilee," the blue elf asked, now tapping his foot. "I don't have all day here. I have a German class to teach in a few minutes."

"I'm sorry," Jubilee said. "It's just that I... Well... I..." she gulped. "Well, John's been gone for a long time, because he joined Magneto, and he just came back out of nowhere and I was going to announce it to the entire school so everyone could be mean to him, and that's why they were chasing after me."

Kurt was shocked. "Vas? Oh... Yes... I had forgot that you had left, John. I'm glad you decided to come back... But Jubilee, you shouldn't be mean. He might decide to leave again. Now I must get to class." And with that, Kurt bamfed away.

Jubilee looked back over to John and Bobby, and then looked down. She wasn't sure what to say or how to act about this situation at all. "I'm sorry, guys... I shouldn't have acted like that... It just shocked me..."

"Well, thank you for not actually telling Kurt the truth," Bobby said smiling. He looked over to John. "Right, John? Aren't you happy that she..."

"Yeah, sure... All happy and giggly inside over it," John said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes and sat down in a chair against the wall as he started playing around with his lighter.

Bobby couldn't help but chuckle. _'Even though John's changed a lot emotionally, he still has his attitude from time to time. I think I like that.'_ He turned back to Jubilee. "Don't take that the wrong way. That's John's way of saying thank you."

"Yeah... I remember how things are with him..." Jubilee remained serious the whole time and looked down the hallway on both ends, making sure that no one was eavesdropping and then looked back to Bobby. "So how did this happen? You were in love with Marie, I find out that you and her are having problems, and then all of a sudden, John comes back, and you're with him. I'm just a tad surprised, Bobby. I never thought I'd see you of all people with another guy."

"People change, Jubilee, and I guess I'm one of those that like change. Marie's drained me... I guess I finally realized that I just wanted something different, and John opened up to me, and I guess things just started to fall into place. You would've had to be have been there."

"No offense, Bobby, but I don't really think I would've wanted to be there," Jubilee said with a smile.

"Oh, come on, Jubes," John said, finally speaking up. "You know you wanna have a threesome with us." He started laughing.

Bobby's eyes enlarged and his face turned red as he looked over to John in shock and then back to Jubilee who just laughed it all off. Bobby tried to chuckle as well, but it just came out a wheeze. This side of John would take a long time to get used to, as Bobby was used to John always being so quiet and unvocal about things, or how he felt about things. And now John was a lot more open now that they were together. It was a lot for Bobby to swallow, but he figured that he eventually would.

"Anyway," Bobby finally said. "Can we trust you not to go off telling everyone? I know you have a big mouth."

Jubilee's mouth dropped. "That's like seriously not nice, Bobby! I aught to start telling people right now, just for that!"

"I didn't mean it like that, Jubilee. You should know that's not the case. We just don't know how anyone is going to react to all of this. Please, just promise me that you'll keep your mouth shut."

"She won't, Bobby," John said. "Everyone in the mansion will know before the end of the night... Heck, probably even in an hour, knowing who we're talking to here. She'll start talking, and I bet the first person she'll go to is Marie."

"I will not!" Jubilee yelled to John. She looked back to Bobby. "Alright, I'll try my best to stay quiet... I can't promise anything, cause in all reality, you are right about me and my mouth, but I'll try my best."

"That's all I ask," Bobby said smiling.

"Well, I guess I should go do what I set out to do in the first place. I was going to go have a workout in the gym. That's why I was at the elevator in the first place. I'll go do that now, I guess." With that, Jubilee took off back down the hallway toward the elevator.

Bobby turned to John, still sitting down and messing around with the Zippo lighter. "So are you gonna be alright?"

"As long as she keeps her mouth shut I'll be fine. Ya know, I was able to keep everything about my private life secret for several years. Sure the telepaths knew, because they love to pry into people's minds. You'd be surprised what I put up with there, especially with Quentin Quire. That jackass would keep making me see visions of Scott being killed in front of my eyes, or visions of me having to kill him myself. I hate that guy for the way he acts. Maybe if you think about it, he was another reason I had to leave."

"Yeah, Quentin can be a pain, but I think he's calmed down a lot now with the Professor and Dr. Grey gone. He's the resident telepath now... Unless you count Miss Frost, but she's rarely here. I don't think she likes this place... At least Quentin actually likes being here. And he's learning the basics of Cerebro now. It won't be long and he'll actually be able to start using it. He is pretty powerful after all."

"Yeah, I know all about his powers, Bobby. I had to experience them first hand," John stated.

Bobby nodded and sat down beside John in another seat. "Well, at least you won't have to worry about him doing that now at least. I think he's grown up a lot since then. He's really taking on responsibility quite well."

"Did he ever get rid of that ridiculous purple Mohawk?" John asked snickering.

Bobby laughed. "No, he's still got it. I think he likes it for some reason. He's still trying to get with that one Cuckoo as well unsuccessfully. She doesn't really like him."

"Well, I guess some things don't change, huh?"

"Nah, some things are the same, but none of that mattered all that much. You were the one thing that changed that I really wish hadn't. I'm glad that you're back though."

"I guess I'm glad to be back too... At least now I am... I don't feel alone anymore with you in my life."

"And you'll never have to feel alone ever again either," Bobby assured him.

John smiled. "I'll make sure to hold you to that, Iceman."

"You won't have to, Pyro," Bobby said, smiling back. "I promise you, I'll never leave you, and I refuse to let you walk out of my life again."

John smirked. "You couldn't stop me if I wanted to."

"I'd try my damnedest though, Bobby said shaking his finger at John. "I won't let you just leave me so easily again. I'll go with you next time."

John raised an eyebrow at this. "Really? If I decided to just up and leave again right now and go back to the Brotherhood, you'd go with me?"

Bobby sighed. "I wouldn't really like it, but I don't want to loose you again. I would go with you and hope that maybe I could get you to change your mind."

"Well, you won't have to worry about that being a possibility," John reassured him. "I'm not going back. Like I already said, Magneto left me to die on Alcatraz Island... I never meant anything to him. I was just another of his pawns, just like Mystique. Once I was no further use to him, he forgot that I even existed."

"If you think about it though, I basically did something similar to you... When Rogue first showed up, I started spending all of my time with her, and neglected you."

"Let's not get into that conversation anymore. We've gone over all of that... I tell ya though, Rogue's gonna flip when she finds out about us."

"She'll just have to get over it, John," Bobby stated as he looked around, making sure that the hallway was clear. Since classes were going on right now, there weren't going to be many people walking around anyway, and thankfully no one was in that hall at all right then.

John shook his head. "I still can't believe that you and I are together now... It's so odd... How do you go from best friends, to enemies, and then to lovers?"

Bobby chuckled. "I'm not sure, but that will probably answer itself in time anyway. However, that's not really for us to worry about anyway. Let's go do something. I don't know what yet, but we should do something."

"I agree," John said smiling. "We'll know what we're gonna do when we get there."

Both boys stood up and moved down the hallway together to go to a new destination.

Arthur's Note: Alright, I know it's not that long or great a chapter, but now's your chance to change the direction it's going in. Where should they go next, everyone? Please review and tell me where you think they should go, what they should do, and why. I'd love to hear your ideas of what should happen next, as with college, I don't get many chances to work on this story, and a helping hand would be awesome. Thanks to everyone for the reviews that I've gotten so far, and any reviews in the future.


	9. Chapter 8: Going for a Swim

Scott, Piotr, or Bobby?... Oh, my!

By Jobby Shipper

Chapter 8: Going for a Swim

Arthur's Note: Well... No one ever actually told me where John and Bobby should go next. LOL... or is that a reason to laugh? looks sad Anyway, so I decided on the next location for them to end up at on my own, and here's where things ended up going. I dedicate this chapter to Devo (you know who you are, and I'm sure you'll realize why it's dedicated to you as you read the chapter). Anyway, here it is:

Bobby led John into his X-Men dorm and closed the door after they were both in. "Alright," Bobby began, "I think we should go down to the pool for a while. You can heat it up into a Jacuzzi like you always used to do. You remember that?"

"Yeah," John replied smirking. "I remember, but I don't have any swimming trunks with me."

"I've got ya covered," Bobby said with a smile as he walked over to the closet. "I mean, your old clothes are still in the old room, but to save time from having to go to the other side of the mansion, you can just borrow a pair of mine."

"Well, I'm sure we'll both be using each other's clothes a lot now anyway, so it shouldn't be that big a deal," John pointed out.

Bobby nodded as he pulled out two pairs of swimming trunks and tossed one of them to John. "Yeah, you're probably right... So... Should we umm... change in front of each other?"

"I don't think it's gonna matter much, Bobby. It won't be long before we see each other... well, you know, anyway."

Bobby shrugged and began undressing really fast. John could tell that he was nervous about undressing in front of someone as he probably hadn't done it very often anyway... if at all for that matter. John just shook his head and started undressing himself.

"If you don't slow down, you're gonna end up ripping holes in your good jeans," John said as he casually took his shirt off and tossed it aside, then starting on the lighter pack strapped to his back.

"Sorry... I'm just feeling... Umm..."

"Insecure?"

"Maybe a little..."

"You don't have to around me, Bobby. You're perfectly fine the way you are. I'm not gonna dump you for the way your body looks, which from what I can tell, is perfect."

And John was definitely paying attention. Bobby had apparently been working out a lot and most likely using the tanning beds. He was tan all over... even in areas below the belt. John smiled at that, and then realized how pale his body was. He rarely took the time to get a tan at all. He was always so busy. He couldn't help but feel a little insecure himself, but John wasn't the kind of guy to let it get to him. He always felt that people should like him for the way he was, and in every way that he was for that matter. If Bobby really did care about a relationship with John, he wouldn't judge his body, and it didn't seem like Bobby was going to. He seemed a bit mesmerized by just looking at John after he had pulled his pants and underwear down, getting ready to put the trunks on.

After the two were finally dressed in their swimming trunks, and a little more comfortable again, they moved toward each other, embracing one another, their upper bodies rubbing against one another, allowing skin to skin contact. John felt so warm on Bobby's cold skin, and John didn't feel effected much by the coldness. That must've been what truly allowed the two to get as close as they finally had. It was originally believed that fire and ice could never come together, as one element would be too extreme for the other, but in the case of these two mutants, it was an entirely different story. Their lips locked together for a kiss. They savored the moment as their tongues got acquainted with one another.

When they finally broke from the kiss, they just stared into each others eyes for what seemed like an eternity. Bobby was conflicted still, as he looked into those dark brown eyes. Was this what he really wanted? John had always been just a best friend to him. He had never been with a guy before John, and although it was an interesting and new feeling for him, he still felt like it was also a strange and uncomfortable one as well that he would have to overcome.

John wasn't having nearly the same thoughts as he stared into Bobby's deep blue eyes. His thoughts kept constantly drifting back to Scott Summers. Could he really move on with Bobby? He had always loved Scott... But Scott would never be with him even with Dr. Grey gone. He knew that deep down. He just hated admitting it to himself... But he figured that it was time for him to move on. He had been alone for far too long, and it was time to allow himself to find someone new, and Bobby was that someone. He couldn't blow this. It was his one and only chance to really be happy.

"Well, we better get down to the pool before others that don't want a Jacuzzi experience beat us down there," John said, finally breaking the silence. "Jubilee's working out in the gym, so she won't bother us... Hopefully that is."

Bobby smiled slightly and nodded after registering that John had actually been talking. "Yeah, let's go."

Bobby took John's hand and led him over to the door. He opened the door and let go of John's hand as they left the room, shutting the door behind them. They moved down the hallway to the elevator and took it down to the sub-basement where the swimming pool was. They had to go through the gym to get to the pool. Jubilee waved to them both happily as she was running on the treadmill. Bobby waved to her, but John just barely nodded before they kept moving.

Upon arriving at the swimming pool, Bobby went to the storage closet to get a couple of towels as John took out his Zippo Lighter, which he had removed from his pants pocket before leaving the dorm room and lit he. He began to spray flames out over the pool, heating it up, bubbles rising from the pool as it started to boil. He stopped spraying the flames and put the lighter down on the chair where the towels were placed. They both slowly stepped into the hot water.

After they were fully in the pool, they moved up close to each other and kissed again. They would be able to enjoy the hot water for about 30 minutes before the warmth finally died down so they decided to make good use of it. However, they were unable to as they suddenly heard a girl's voice entering the pool area, knowing exactly who it was. They quickly stopped kissing and moved out of their embrace as they turned to the voice.

"Come on, Kurt!" Kitty Pryde commanded as she was trying to drag him into the pool room. She was wearing a bathing suit, but Kurt was still in the same clothes he was wearing earlier when he had the run in with John and Bobby as well as Jubilee. Thankfully, Kitty had been distracted with trying to drag Kurt into the room to notice that John and Bobby were making out and so forth so they were in the clear there.

"Katchen, I don't want to get fur all over the pool!" Kurt complained. "I can't do it."

"Kurt, you don't have to worry about that," Kitty protested. "We have staff that clean the pool every morning really early. I don't think they'll mind cleaning out some blue fur occasionally. Now go get yourself changed into some swimming trunks. There are some extra pairs that I'm sure you can wear in the storage closet over there."

"But, Keety..."

"No, buts, Kurt!" Kitty said. "Now do it."

Kurt sighed and started moving over to the closet. "I'm supposed to be an authority figure here," he whispered to himself. "And here I am being bossed around by one of the students."

"I heard that, Kurt," Kitty said, crossing her arms as she was still looking at him.

"Sorry, Keety." Kurt moved over to the storage closet and went inside to get changed.

Kitty turned toward the pool and jumped when she saw John and Bobby already in there staring at her. They both had their arms crossed as well. "I didn't see you to in there... Why is the pool steaming for?"

"John turned it into a temporary Jacuzzi," Bobby replied. "Don't you remember those times?"

"Oh, yeah..." Kitty said, sitting down on the edge of the pool, slowly sinking her feet in. "I do remember one time when there were a lot of us younger kids down here and we asked you to do that, John. I'm glad you're back. This place has been too quiet without you."

John smirked. "Yeah, I guess." He leaned back on the wall of the pool and just closed his eyes as he did his best to relax.

"So why are you down here, Bobby?" Kitty asked, feeling like she had to be noisy.

"Looks to me like I needed a swim," Bobby replied sarcastically. He wasn't one to do that, but being around John again tended to bring the sarcasm out of him from time to time.

Kitty rolled her eyes. "No, I mean why are you down here with John when you should be upstairs trying to get Marie to take you back."

John opened his eyes and raised an eyebrow at that statement. Kitty just couldn't keep her nose out of other people's business. She never could. John had never really liked Kitty because of that. She had always been a real annoyance for him, but he was none the less curious what Bobby would say to that.

"I don't want her back, Kitty," Bobby replied bitterly. "I don't need her."

"Then why did you blow me off earlier?" Kitty asked, a little hurt.

"I've already explained this to you. I was only trying to be friendly. I wasn't trying to get together with you. You're just my friend. Besides, I think you and Kurt are hitting it off well, anyway."

"What!" Kitty asked in shock. "Me and Kurt? You're crazy. He's a teacher and I'm a student!"

"So? Some relationships start off like that," Bobby said shrugging.

"Yeah, the ones that end up with the teacher going to jail," Kitty replied. "I couldn't be with Kurt even if I wanted to."

John rolled his eyes and leaned back up, draping an arm around Bobby's shoulder in only a friendly gesture, like buds would do so that way Kitty wouldn't become suspicious. "Kitty, you're almost eighteen. I don't think it's going to matter in about... What was it? Two weeks from today? I used to know everyone's birthday here."

Kitty giggled... just like a girl. "Actually it's in only three days."

John pulled up his other arm, palm extended. "See? There you have it. Problem solved."

Kitty looked back over to the storage closet. Kurt was apparently still in there... unless he bamfed out without Kitty knowing it so that he could escape. She just about got up to go check, but decided against it, feeling that she would end up looking in while Kurt was still changing. She instead got into the pool and moved over to the other two boys.

"I'm not sure if I like him yet or not though," Kitty confessed. "He's a really nice guy... I just can't decide."

"The right choice will eventually come to you, Kitty," Bobby said. "But we can't tell you what to do. If you think it's worth a try, you have to ask him out yourself."

Kurt suddenly bamfed at the edge of the pool. "Ask who what?"

"Nothing, Kurt," Kitty quickly replied. She glanced over seeing that John was smiling wickedly. She suddenly had a bad feeling that he was going to tell Kurt right then and there. "Don't you dare, John!"

Bobby glanced over to John and saw the look on his face. He leaned in to whisper. "Don't. You don't need enemies here, John."

John sighed and started whispering back. "So it's back to not letting me have any fun, huh? That is one of the reasons I left after all."

"This is not the time to be putting me on a guilt trip, John," Bobby whispered in reply. "I'm gonna let you have all the fun you want with me in any way you want to have it. That should be enough for you."

"Fine," John simply whispered back.

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "Vas are you two whispering about?" He asked as he bent down toward the pool. "What do you three know that you're not telling me? I do not like being left in the dark. You two above all should know that because of earlier with Jubilee."

"What happened with Jubilee?" Kitty asked.

"It was nothing, Kitty," Bobby replied. "She was going to try to humiliate John because he had come back, and we were trying to stop her before Kurt took care of it."

"Kurt Wagner to the rescue then," Kitty said smiling to the fuzzy blue elf.

"Ja!" Kurt said excitedly. "I try. Now, you three might want to step back. I'm going try something."

The three did as Kurt had asked as he moved back a few feet, made a run for the pool, bamfed away and reappeared above the pool, pulling his legs into his chest as he did a cannonball right into the pool. He suddenly came back up screaming. "Ah! The water is hot! Why didn't anyone warn me!"

John started laughing. "You didn't notice the steam coming out of the water, Kurt? Surely your eyes aren't bad."

"Nein, but this is hot!" Kurt said loudly. "I thought a swimming pool would be cooler."

"John heated the pool up with his powers so it would be a temporary Jacuzzi. Sorry, Kurt."

Kurt sighed. "It's alright... I would just like some warning next time."

"We'll make sure to give it to you then," Bobby said.

Kurt nodded and turned back to Kitty, making small talk with her as Bobby turned back to John and started whispering to him. "Good think that Kitty didn't take your putting your arm around me in a loving way."

John shrugged. "I slouched myself over and just draped my arm lazily like a best friend would do. I've been known to act from time to time, Bobby. I know what to do to make it to where I could touch the guy I love without making someone that doesn't know about us suspicious."

"I have a feeling though that we won't be able to keep it secret for long," Bobby stated. "Mutants have all kinds of ways of figuring things out... I've never been able to keep secrets here."

"I'm just better at it. Remember, Quentin Quire was the only person that knew about the way I am before you did... And now Jubes knows... But that's of no matter... If she tells everyone, then she tells everyone, I guess." John shrugged.

Bobby was shocked. "Did you just make a complete 360, John? You were ready to kill Jubilee earlier if she told anyone."

"Well, the thing is, it's inevitable that people are going to find out about me now," John stated. "I'm more open with who I am thanks partially to Dr. Grey's echo, and partially to my own other reasons... meditation and all that... And I think the reaction won't be as difficult to get through. I'll have you to help with the transition, cause you'll be dealing with it as well... It's easier dealing with something if there's someone there to help you through it all... And thankfully only three people know about my feelings for Scott, and one of them is just an echo inside his mind now, so I shouldn't have to worry about him finding out about my feelings."

"Unless, since Dr. Grey's inside his mind, he eventually puts it together that you'd liked him for so long... But I wouldn't let it all get to you too much, John. I don't think Mr. Summers will judge you in a bad way... especially since you've moved on now."

John took a glance behind Bobby to Kitty and Kurt. They had started splashing each other, just playing around in the pool like a couple of little kids. John smiled slightly at that and then looked back over to Bobby, nodding. He was just glad that Kurt and Kitty weren't paying attention to what they were talking about.

"You're right, Bobby," John said. "Ya know, you being right all the time used to really annoy me, but now that we're together, I've come to realize that it's one of your best qualities."

Bobby smiled. "I'm glad I was able to change you then. Perhaps from now on, you'll actually listen to me when I try to get you to restrain yourself."

"You're talking about my powers..."

"Exactly! Control is what being here is all about. Are you willing to learn control?"

"As long as it's you, and only you, that's teaching me," John stated. "I don't want anyone else to. I want you to teach me everything... And I do mean everything."

Bobby raised an eyebrow. "Really? That sounds interesting. We may need to experiment with that then. What do you say we dry off, go back to my room, and we'll see where things go from there?"

"I think if Kurt and Kitty weren't here, we'd have to start that off a little early," John said, smiling wickedly.

Bobby smiled back. "Then let's get out of here. I'll make up an excuse to the two future love birds over there." Bobby turned and led the way to the stairs to exit the pool. "We're going to go get something to eat now and find a movie to watch. We'll catch up to you two later."

"Alright, Bobby," Kitty said. "You two try not to melt or burn anything."

"Always gotta take away all the fun, Kitty," John said sarcastically.

"That's what I'm here for," Kitty replied smiling.

John rolled his eyes and got out of the pool with Bobby. They both dried off and wrapped the towels around their bodies as they moved out of the pool room. Jubilee was no longer on the gym so they didn't have to make small talk with her thankfully as they left the gym and made their way back to Bobby's dorm room where there was no telling what might happen next.


End file.
